"Are you kidding me? You want us to follow your orders while we go hunting?"
Ploy's face was filled with suspicion when she heard Nawa's condition. Although she thought Nawa was a very skilled mage, making him the team leader was too much.
Last time Nawa won against Somchai, it was a bare-handed duel without weapons, and Somchai was careless, not using any combat skills. If they fought seriously, Somchai would likely be superior.
Not to mention Natee, the group's top-ranked player. Even though his stats were only Rank D, his overall combat power was comparable to high-ranked players. Natee had a B-rank skill like Berserker, plus premium artifacts.
Even against a Rank C player, Ploy thought Natee would be superior. To expect someone like Natee to take orders from a Rank E player who had just joined The Oneness—it was simply impossible.
In truth, Nawa didn't want to be the group leader at all. He simply wanted to protect and safeguard Ploy. For some reason, he had felt this way since their first meeting. Nawa felt a special affection and fondness for this young girl.
When he learned that Ploy and her friends were going to hunt a Pro-level monster, even though they lacked a ranged attack class, Nawa couldn't help but worry.
In Nawa's opinion, Ploy and her friends had underestimated the danger of The Oneness. Even though they were top students at the Volunteer Academy, they lacked experience. Without someone to protect them, there was a high chance they would put themselves in life-threatening danger.
Ploy hesitated for a long time before speaking:
"Brother Nawa, I think what you're asking is too much. Even if I agree to listen to you, my friends probably won't."
"Okay, if you promise to obey all my orders during the hunt. If I tell you to stop, you stop. If I say no, you say no. You must not be stubborn at all. Then I will go with you."
This was a matter of life and death, not only for Ploy but also for Nawa herself. As he spoke, Nawa's voice and demeanor were very serious.
"Okay, if only you'll agree to join our team."
"Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do it obediently. No whining, no complaining. You can trust me!"
After saying that, Ploy jumped and clung to Nawa's arm, acting like a little girl overjoyed.
"What are you doing?"
Nawa exclaimed in surprise. He hadn't expected her to do something like that. Nawa tried to pull his arm away, but Ploy was clinging on too tightly. To anyone, it looked like the two were a couple playfully teasing each other.
"Natee, did you see what I saw?" Somchai said as he opened the door and entered the bar.
It wasn't surprising that Somchai looked displeased at the sight of Nawa, as he had challenged him to a duel before and lost. But for Natee, his face was even more sullen than Somchai's, as if he had just eaten a swarm of wasps.
When Ploy turned around and saw her friends, she quickly shouted the good news with a bright, cheerful smile.
"You guys are back? I have good news! Nawa agreed to join our party!"
"Now we can go hunt the gray wolves!"
As she spoke, Ploy still held onto Nawa's arm, thinking her friends would be happy to hear the news. But the reality was the opposite. Even Nawa, an outsider, could clearly sense the tense atmosphere.
The expressions and eyes of Ploy's friends clearly showed their disapproval of Nawa. They didn't even want to see him, let alone join the hunting team. Natee, in particular, glared at Nawa with a furious look that seemed to want to devour him.
"Hey, we meet again," Nawa raised one hand in greeting.
According to etiquette, Nawa, being older, didn't need to greet first. But he decided to put aside his ego and greet them first, hoping to dispel the uncomfortable tension. However, the result was the opposite. Only May, Ploy's female friend, responded with a greeting.
"Ploy, what's going on? Didn't we agree that we wouldn't let him join our team?" Natee said, trying to keep his voice as normal as possible.
"Yeah, you can't trust someone like him. He boasts about having the nickname 'the gifted one'."
"But I can't show you. And the thing about using magic skills without artifacts is just a cheap trick. He probably ran out of magic items, that's why he's begging to join our team. He's probably hoping to leech off us and get a share. Does he think Somchai will fall for his shallow scheme?"
Somchai spoke without restraint, looking at Nawa with contempt and disdain.
"Shut up! You guys are unreasonable. No, you're just jealous of him. You see he got a superior Haya, so you're making excuses to avoid accepting it. I'm so disappointed in you both, especially Natee. I thought you'd be more generous."
Ploy spoke with a stern and self-centered demeanor, but also with a touch of feminine cunning, both scolding and playing the victim at the same time. This left the clever Natee speechless and speechless. Luckily, some in the group were aware of Ploy's manipulative tactics.
May, Ploy's friend, chimed in, her voice serious.
"Ploy, this time we're going to hunt professional-level monsters. What will the result be without teamwork?" A healer like you should know better, shouldn't you?"
Natee looked at Mai with a grateful expression, causing Mai to smile slightly. Then Natee turned to look at Nawa, narrowing his eyes slightly before saying,
"Mai's right. If team members don't trust each other, their hunting ability is reduced by more than half. Not to mention, if one member isn't as skilled as they claim, it will put the whole team in danger."
Ploy wanted to argue, but she was speechless. She, as a healer, knew best how important teamwork was.
Seeing Ploy's troubled expression, Nawa patted her shoulder gently and said,
"Your friend is right. I'm not suited to be on a hunting team with you."
"Nawa, but we promised to hunt monsters together,"
Ploy said, her face a mixture of disappointment and guilt. This was the second time she had invited Nawa to join her team and been rejected.
"How about this? I'll hunt monsters with you, but as a laborer player. That way, we won't break our promise."
"What did you say?"
Ploy exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't expected this. The other party, not only not angry at being rejected so disrespectfully by her friends, even offered to be a laborer player for them.
"Why are you doing this?"
Ploy asked, looking at Nawa with mixed feelings. She didn't understand why he would go to such lengths. With the skill Nawa displayed, even without teaming up with them, he could easily find a hunting team or hunt monsters on his own. Either way, he could earn more money than being a laborer player.
"There's nothing to it. I promised you, so I have to keep my word."
Nawa's words seemed like a perfunctory statement, but Ploy felt that he went to such lengths because of her. She felt deeply grateful and respectful towards Nawa. For a moment, Ploy felt that Nawa was like a family member, genuinely wishing her well.
"No!"
Natee roared in a fierce voice, startling everyone and making them turn to look. Natee continued, trying to keep his voice as normal as possible:
"Our team only has Rank D players. How can we bring a Rank E laborer to work? It's too dangerous."
While Natee's words sounded reasonable, they were actually quite unreasonable. Nawa had already defeated Somchai in a sparring match once. Although it wasn't a life-or-death battle, it was enough to prove Nawa's skill level was comparable to a Rank D player.
Ploy seemed to understand her friend's unreasonable behavior, and with her stubborn and unwilling nature, she was about to unleash a huge rant to vent her frustration. But before she could, her eyes caught sight of glowing white letters above Nawa's head. They read (RANK D).
"I-Impossible! How did he go from Rank E to Rank D in just a few days?" Somchai exclaimed, his eyes wide. The others were equally shocked.
Although the increase in stats from Rank E to Rank D wasn't considered very high, the last time they saw Nawa was only a few days ago. Even top students from Asashi Academy like them couldn't increase their stats this quickly.
"Could it be... that 'Talented One' title they mentioned back then is real?"
Mai exclaimed, recalling the rumors about the world's first S-rank player, Adam White. When he passed the player test, he received a title surpassing even a new genius.
"No way. He must have been incredibly lucky to find a high-level monster egg and eat it to reach D-rank. If he really had that title, why wouldn't he show it?"
Somchai shouted, looking at Nawa with contempt. But Nawa acted as if Somchai didn't exist, just insignificant air, too worthless to even glance at. Nawa's attitude only enraged Somchai further.
"Hmph... You think you're so great, huh? This time, let's fight for real, without any rules, and you'll see the power of Somchai!"
Somchai roared, intending to start another fight with Nawa, hoping to avenge his previous defeat. But before he could even begin... Natee stepped in to stop him.
"That's enough. Since this guy's Rank D, we have no reason to refuse him."
Just one sentence from Natee calmed Somchai's rage. For some reason, Somchai, who never backed down to anyone, yielded to Natee.
"Fine, since you say so, I have nothing more to say," Somchai said, crossing his arms and sitting down on a nearby chair, his gaze still fixed on Nawa with anger.
Nawa paid no attention to Somchai. Instead, he looked at Natee with admiration. At such a young age, he possessed such leadership qualities; it was rare, Nawa thought to himself.
"When are you guys starting your journey?" Nawa asked.
Even though time in The Oneness moved three times slower than on Earth, Nawa had no time to dawdle. Besides needing to earn money to pay off his mafia debts, he also had other commitments. Nawa still needs to earn money so his younger sibling can go to school.
"Hmph… You're overestimating yourself. Do you think that just because you're joining us, we can go hunting? It seems you don't even know what full-scale player hunting is," Somchai said, glancing at Nawa out of the corner of his eye.
In typical hunting, players handle everything themselves: killing monsters, disposing of carcasses, and selling the remains. However, for full-scale hunting, players divide tasks into teams to maximize efficiency.
Players responsible for killing monsters are called the assault team, while those performing other tasks are called the support team. These tasks include butchering and storing monster carcasses, mining ore and gathering herbs, and transporting equipment and hunted items.
Generally, the support team is 2-3 times the size of the assault team, depending on the location and type of monster being hunted.
"Yes, Nawa, we need at least 8-10 laborers for the support team. But don't worry, I think we'll have enough applicants soon. Now that we have you, others will follow,"
Although Ploy spoke with confidence, she knew deep down that finding a Rank D player in a small town like this wouldn't be easy. Even after posting an ad in the Transporter Guild for almost a day, only Nawa had applied.
What Ploy had been thinking but didn't say aloud was that if she didn't get the required number of laborer players today, she would tell her friends to double, or even triple, their wages.
Even though doing so would make the hunt prohibitively expensive, almost unprofitable, Ploy didn't care because she was tired of hunting rabbits around the city.
"No need. I'll handle the support team. If you and your friends are free, we can set off right away," Nawa said to Ploy casually, as if nothing was wrong.
"What? You? Find that many D-rank players? Even one crappy E-rank player probably wouldn't be willing to come along!"
Somchai was about to speak, but Natee stopped him with a raised hand. Then Natee turned to Nava and spoke in a serious tone:
"If you can do as you say, I'll pay you double. If you can't…"
"Next time, don't butt in with such nonsensical opinions."
Nawa pondered for a moment before speaking with a hint of delight in his voice.
"Agreed. See you at the city gate tomorrow."
After saying this, Nawa walked out of the hotel bar with a cheerful expression, followed by Ploy, leaving the others immersed in the tense and awkward atmosphere that Natee was emitting. Ploy followed Nawa because she wanted to know where he was going to find so many Rank D players.
But what she saw was Nawa simply wandering aimlessly around the city, not stopping anywhere in particular, acting like a tourist sightseeing.
"Hey, where are you going, Nawa?" Ploy couldn't help but ask.
"Nowhere, just strolling around the city. Because we have to leave tomorrow. But why are you following me?" Nawa turned to Ploy, his eyes gentle.
"Because I wanted to know where you were going to find almost ten Rank D players."
"There's less than a day left until the time I agreed with your friends," Nawa said with a smile.
"Oh, I see. There's nothing to worry about. I can easily handle the work of ten player laborers."
Ploy didn't understand what Nawa meant, but she didn't press the matter. For some reason, she felt a great deal of trust in this man. Ploy changed the subject, mostly talking about herself and her friends.
It was just as Nawa had expected. Ploy and her friends came from wealthy families. Natee, in particular, was the son of the CEO of PPTP, the country's current energy monopoly. Compared to Nawa, Ploy and her friends were in a different world. But Nawa didn't feel jealous or inferior.
What interested Nawa now was the Asashi Institute. From talking with Ploy, Nawa had learned more about the Asashi Institute. This institute didn't just train players; it also taught ordinary people, but in subjects related to The Oneness, such as magical runes and energy crystal technology.
Those who could study at the Asashi Institute... It requires both immense talent and incredible effort, because each year, the Asashi Academy accepts only a limited number of students, just a few hundred. And money is absolutely essential, as the tuition fees at the Asashi Academy are among the highest in the country. The tuition for just one semester is more than the cost of a scholarship to become a doctor.
But it's worth it. Most graduates of the Asashi Academy become high-ranking players, some are high-ranking members of major guilds, or hold important positions in the government. Nawan plans for his younger brother to study at the Asashi Academy.